Did You Know that Members of Congress can legally make trades on non-public information they obtain during their official duties? CBS News’ ‘60 Minutes‘ reported this on Sunday night. Branded ‘honest graft,’ lawmakers can use market-moving information that they learn in congressional committees to trade on the stock market — actions that likely would carry stiff jail and civil penalties if they did not hold public office.

In one example, Steve Kroft reports that Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), now the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, bet against the market in the days before the 2008 financial crisis hit — after getting ‘apocalyptic briefings’ from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Kroft also raises questions about the trading patterns of Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — and the real estate purchases of other senators and representatives.

The report relies heavily on the work of Peter Schweizer, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution, whose work ’60 Minutes’ independently verified. “This is a venture opportunity,” Schweizer told ’60 Minutes.’ “This is an opportunity to leverage your position in public service and use that position to enrich yourself, your friends, and your family.”

Nancy Pelosi fires back at report on ‘insider trading’ CBS raises questions of conflict of interest among Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress msnbc.com and NBC News updated 41 minutes ago A television report that questioned whether members of Congress are making investment decisions based on insider information drew a heated response from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of those highlighted. A report on CBS’ “60 minutes” on Sunday said Pelosi was among several lawmakers — including Republicans such as House Speaker John Boehner — who had profited from transactions that raised the possibility of conflicts of interest.

November 13, 2011 7:06 PM Congress: Trading stock on inside information? (CBS News) Washington, D.C. is a town that runs on inside information – but should our elected officials be able to use that information to pad their own pockets? As Steve Kroft reports, members of Congress and their aides have regular access to powerful political intelligence, and many have made well-timed stock market trades in the very industries they regulate. For now, the practice is perfectly legal, but some say it’s time for the law to change. The following is a script of “Insiders” which aired on Nov. 13, 2011. Steve Kroft is correspondent, Ira Rosen and Gabrielle Schonder, producers.